


Revenant

by Corveille



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (a little Confort), Angst, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Whump, Failed Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Machine Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mind Games, Past Character Death, Poor Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Three Guesses On Who The Character Death Is, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed Friendship, Tina Chen Being Even More Of An Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 03:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20075467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corveille/pseuds/Corveille
Summary: "Look at that… a fucking ghost." Detective Reed says, not trying to hide his disdain. "The fuck are you doing here?"





	Revenant

**Author's Note:**

> This was was me basically setting the goal to do an angst prompt, even though I usually don't do angst very much (or very well.)
> 
> But yeah, this took me a while to finish. And now that it is out of the way I can go back to doing other wips in need of completion. (because that will happen, eventually.) 
> 
> English is not my native language and my editing tends to skip over so many errors, so I apologize for any mistakes you find and don't feel afraid to point them out if you do.
> 
> Enjoy(?)

Connor finds himself standing in the Zen Garden, before the white stones that run along the pond leading to where Amanda is. The place seems…different in a way, Connor notices once he takes a look around. Small changes had been implemented, the absence of stones meant to represent his predecessors for once, puzzles him. It seems like a waste of time to invest energy into making such insignificant modifications but maybe Cyberlife simply wanted to get rid of any evidence of failure, even in here.

The lack of white doves, he doesn't know how to justify, and the flowers seem less vibrant, dulled down either by the simulated climate or by the will of a human hand. He guesses that, if he looks down at the water, the colorful koi fishes will be gone, as well.

His processors don't let him dwell on the fact for long.

_ [ _ **Objective** : _ Find Amanda.] _

Connor has a slight idea of where she could be.

He doesn't know how much time has passed since the failed revolution or why he'd been activated again. A quick analysis reveals that a majority of the memories pre-revolution are missing, or have been corrupted, from his core. The last thing he remembers is how Amanda had given him instructions to be sent in for deactivation after successfully assassinating the deviant leader. Cyberlife extracting as much data as they could from his memory core regarding deviants before his disassemble, seems like the most likely outcome.

"Connor." Amanda greets him once he reaches her trellis, still filled with roses. "It's good to see you." Such fake happiness is evident in her tone. Connor nods and gives a simulated smile in return, patiently awaiting for new orders.

"I'm sure you have questions as to why we are seeing each other again." Correct he has. " I wish I could say deviancy has become a thing of the past, but despite our best efforts some deviants had managed to avoid deactivation and are still running free." Amanda cuts one of the roses and places it on the table next to her. In Connor's eyes the movement looks almost too mechanic, her eyes no longer shine as brightly.

"Sadly our latest model, the RK900, is not quite yet finished." She continues and he remembers, although vaguely, seeing an android with that model number in here. "You have shown great skills when faced with deviants before, Connor, you were a vital element in our success." She praises as she takes in the scent of the roses and Connor-

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

\--he feels nothing of it.

"We have one last task for you." The smile is gone from her face. "You'll go back to the DPD to finish what you started." She orders but the real instructions are implied in her words, in the firm look she gives him.

_ Do not fail me. _

"I'll do my best to complete it, Amanda." he says.

\----

It is right when he’s at the gates of the central police department that Connor receives the update he’s been assigned to Lieutenant Hank Anderson...once again. 

Though the memories might be fragmented, Connor’s aware he acted as Hank’s partner on previous deviancy cases. He knows partly, the progress the two made on said cases, the state of their relationship however remains unknown to him. 

The receptionist makes what he could describe as an odd look as he states the purpose of his visit, but soon enough let’s him pass without any trouble.

He manages to seek the Lieutenant out quicker this time around. Hank’s sitting at his desk, atrocious combination of clothes on his frame and face hidden in both hands. The man rubs at his temples and lets out a weak grumble, probably trying to get rid of a headache. 

Connor walks slowly towards the desk, trying his best to make his footsteps loud as to not startle him. It all turns out to be pointless. Hank jumps in his seat when Connor reaches for it, frown present on his face as he looks over, more than ready to engage in a yelling match.

“_ Jesus _ what the fuck do you think you-you...Connor?”

His aggressive expression changes into one of shock as bloodshot eyes check him up and down. His hands clench and unclench into abortive fits and his mouth opens a bit before closing again, lost on what to say.  
  
Connor give a tentative smile and makes the talk for him.

“Hello Lieutenant it’s good to see you remember me.” _ As I don’t seem to remember you. _ He tries for a friendly approach, not yet sure if this reaction can lead to a positive outcome.

“How could I not? After the stunt you did, fucking--.” Hank puffs out in indignation, maybe even resignation, “No you know what? Whatever, just...fucking whatever.” He says and focuses his attention back on the screen, ignoring him completely. Now that Connor's close, the scent of alcohol hangs heavy around them.

Connor idly watches him type for 1.24 minutes.

“I assume Captain Jeffrey told you about me.”

“Yeah, he fucking told me alright.”

“So I’m right to conclude you already know why I am here--.”

“Connor just--just shut the fuck up, got it?”

  
  
[ _ Relationship Hank Anderson: Hostile.] _

So the two didn’t end on as much of a good note as Connor had hoped. Hank looks even more tired that the last accessible memory Connor has of him, and his beard has grown 1.25 inches longer. The light of the screen is probably worsening his headache, most likely a product of a hangover. An additional scan shows traces of whiskey lingering on each individual hair around Hank’s mouth and a few drops on his coat. 

Despite of that, he's glad that Hank still is-

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

\--he’ll see that the Lieutenant's efficiency improves over the course of this tentative partnership, which in turn, will be beneficial to his mission. 

Firstly the sleep deprivation, he can do without. Hypothetically speaking, a man of Hank’s age should avoid ingesting caffeine in large quantities but in this case, Connor thinks, an exception can be made. 

“I’ll be right back.” He makes his tone cheerful and heads for the break room.

Hank doesn’t take his eyes off his terminal. 

The break room is already occupied by the time Connor gets there. Officer Tina Chen is by the tables looking absently at the news displayed on the Screen behind her, in the company of a warm cup of coffee and Detective Gavin Reed.

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠

Connor’s face scrunches in confusion as a small bit of corrupted text hovers on the left corner of his HUD for a second, before disappearing from view. He doesn’t get enough time to decipher the message before his auditory processors pick on how his presence has been noted.

"Look at that… a fucking ghost."Detective Reed says, not trying to hide his disdain. "The fuck are you doing here?"

Connor opens his mouth to explain, even if the probability of successfully reasoning with the detective is dangerously low, but a feminine voice, curt and filled with anger, cuts in before he can.

  
  
“ _ You. _” Officer Chen hisses. The chair screeches against the floor as she abruptly stands up. The coffee cup shakes dangerously on the edge of the table and, once the officer bumps it as she moves away, spills its content over the grey tiles. Neither Chen or Reed seem to care much about that lost and he-

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

-doesn’t either.

In four long strides Officer Chen gets right in Connor’s face, blocking his view of Detective Reed in the process, and spats. “Just who took you out of the dumpster and let you walk in here?”

The question is lanced with hatred and her mouth is set into a sneer. Connor is not sure what he did to deserve such a reaction, nothing in her official records show Tina Chen having such strong negative emotions towards androids, maybe he did something in the past to upset her?

“ Hello, I was sent by Cyberlife to help catch the last deviants--.”

“I don’t care!” She raises her voice and takes a step forward.

  
  
“But you asked me--.”

“You think you can just waltz in here, acting like nothing’s wrong?!”And Connor is confused. The aggression in her tone is evidently meant for him but he can’t recall ever doing anything deserving of it. Even if there was, such memories are deleted from his systems. A snicker catches Connor’s attention.

It’s coming from the detective who seems happy enough just watching the show unfold before him. He locks eyes with Connor for a moment and gives a malicious grin, twirling at cup around with his fingers that Connor’s certain had not been there before. 

When did he--?

“Look at me when I’m talking to you.” An index finger being jabbed right in Connor’s chest makes the android finally look back at her. 

“I’m sorry but I don’t know what you are referring to.” Turns to be the wrong thing to say. Her posture tenses, lower jaw begins clenching, causing her teeth to grind against one another. There’s is so much rage buried in her eyes that Connor takes a calculated step back and starts to bring his hands up. He tries to school his expression into a calming smile as she seems seconds away from hitting him.

Thankfully, a hand on her shoulder stops Officer Chen from coming any closer.

“Okay that’s enough.” Hank gruffs from behind her, glances at Connor in disappointment, he doesn’t understand why. His hand twitches closer to the pocket of his jacket, where he knows a coin is tucked in. Connor feels the round shape through the fabric, but doesn’t take it out. Doing so now could be interpreted as him being rather disinterested, regarding the problem at hand. Raising the officer’s agitation won’t favor him in any way.

He clasps both hands in front of him and waits.

Chen shrugs the hand off and spins around to face the newcomer and Connor is thankful that her aggression is momentarily away from him. Though, she halts his steps for a second when she realizes who the looming figure standing before her is.

“Hank you can’t be serious.” There’s something akin to a whine in her tone. She shakes her head in disbelief, pointing at Connor. “I thought you, of all people, would be the last one to defend this thing!” 

“Look Tina,” Hank starts, squinting his eyes as surely another headache threatens to take over again. “I hate this as much as you do, but it’s just not worth it okay? Bastard doesn’t remember shit anyways.” 

“And Fowler allowed this?” She asks and this time, the question comes out at a normal volume, but her wide eyes give away to her surprise.

“Yes, so if you have any problems take it to him.” The two of them talk as if he isn’t in the same room with them, like he has no business to take part in this conversation that is centered around _ him _ and past actions he has no way of remembering. As if he were merely just an object to be used and later disposed of-

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

\--and he is, he’s just a machine.

Officer Chen stares at the Lieutenant silently, weighing her options. Hank doesn’t back off right away either. He crosses both arms over his chest and narrows his eyes at her in challenge. A challenge she chooses not to partake in, her body relaxes as she lets her shoulders slump.

“Keep this android out of my sight Hank, else I’ll throw it into the next trash can I see myself.” She warns, looking back at Connor with a heated glare. Connor moves out of the way to avoid colliding with her as Officer Chen walks out of the break room. Hank gives a drawn out sigh as he watches her go.

“Fucking androids.” Connor hears Reed mutter as he gets up and follows after her, hands in pockets, now that his fun is over. “Prick.” He says as he walks by Connor. The glitch flickers again.

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠ 

Reed’s cup is no longer on the table when Connor looks.

A cleaning android joins them moments later to take care of the mess left by Officer Chen, and Connor follows the movements of the mop with his eyes. Takes in any detail he can of whatever is around him except from the man next to him, until he can’t anymore.

“Come on, we have a case.” Hank says once both of them are finally alone. Connor does his best to avoid the harsh stare he knows is there, in those blue eyes now watching him, and focuses on fixing his off-centered tie. 

And, as the two head towards the front doors, he pointedly tries to ignore the message flashing on his HUD.

  
  
[ _ Relationship Tina Chen: Hostile.] _

\-----  
  
On the following days, Connor smartly chooses to stay away from Officer Chen’s path. He sticks close to Hank, for the most part, analysing case files or bringing the man coffee once he’s sure the break room is empty.

Not much progress is made regarding the deviants, still any small progress that makes Hank a bit more lenient towards him is rewarding on its own.

Connor also takes this time to run a throughout scan over his multitude of programs, trying to find the source of the corrupted text. He checks every corner, then double checks again, nothing comes up. Although, Connor does find out than a update has been upload into his systems just before his re-activation. A patch of sorts, courtesy of Cyberlife itself. 

His eyebrow furrow momentarily when he’s denied access to the files. A second try its met with the same restrictions. His hand twitches in search for the coin again but is quickly shoved forcefully onto his lap. 

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

Connor dismisses the files for now.

He tries asking the lieutenant what exactly he did to justify Tina’s anger instead, but learns to thinks better of it after Hank becomes rather aggressive himself with his responses.

The insults and taunts he and Officer Chen throw around have no effect on him, however. After all, he’s just a machine designed to follow orders. Hank is not really a problem, he doesn’t actively tries to find ways to upset him unless prompted to, Tina on the other hand...

His sensors pick on how something hot is dropped all over his head. Connor snaps out of his thoughts as a warm black liquid runs down his face, over his mouth--

_ *>Substance analyzed: caffeine, trigonelline, chlogenic acids, sacarose(...). temperature: 71,7°C.* _

\--and stains his Cyberlife insured suit. 

“Oops.” Chen’s voice, all too sarcastic, says from next to him. As Connor turns to look at her more closely, he notices that the detective doesn’t seem to be with her this time around, in fact he's nowhere present in the bullpen at the moment. “Look where you are going, you plastic piece of shit.” She mocks with a wide grin on her face as the rest of the DPD watches them mutely. 

Connor’s standing right by the lieutenant’s desk, near the wall and well away from whoever could be walking around. Hank is currently in the bathroom, logically speaking there was no reason for her to come this far, to come so close to _him_. No reason…

A pool of yet another ruined coffee forms under Connor’s shoes as he continues to stay still and watches her go calmly back to her desk. The ruined shirt sticks awkwardly to his fake skin, the tie feels just a bit more constricting around his neck. He picks up the plastic cup and hears it break under his fingers when he sets it on the desktop.

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

Connor wishes he could make her see how much this doesn’t affe̷c̶t h̸i̵m̵ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠ j̵u̵s̸t so that she would stop wasting both of their tim̸̢̘̪̒̋ê̷̫̹̞̚͝s̵̲̩͔̊_ɹ̸̱̺̘̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠._

_ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠“̴W̸h̶a̴t̴’̵s̷ ̷t̵h̶e̸ ̴p̸r̵o̴b̶l̷e̵m̸ ̷ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠w̸i̵t̸h̴ ̷b̴e̸a̶t̵i̶n̸g̵ ̶y̷o̵u̶ ̴u̸p̷?̴Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠A̷f̸t̶e̸r̷ ̴a̴l̶l̵,̶ ̷y̷o̵u̴’̷r̵e̵ ̴n̶o̸t̵ ̴_h̴u̷m̴a̵n̷_Ö̶̥̋̈̂͠ɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̢̻͂̍͘͠_

Connor stumbles and grips the edge of the desk to stop himself from tripping over his own feet as errors fill in his vision. Taking a moment for his gyroscope to re-calibrate, he looks up to where he knows something was said to him.

Detective Reed is standing close to the Captain’s office, using one of the glass walls as support. Arms crossed over his chest, a small smirk adoring his features. 

Connor, this time he knows Gavin hadn’t been there, he’d checked. He’d not seen the detective talking with Captain Fowler either. How had he get there so quickly then? Had he been interrogating a suspect? But the interrogation room was on the other side of the building.

“What did you say?” He tries to ask even if he doesn’t really expect to get anything from the detective. The glitch had interfered with his auditory receptors. If this problem keeps escalating he will have to schedule for a check up sooner than it is expected of him.

“Um, I didn’t say anything?” That’s not Reed’s voice. 

Connor turns just to find Officer Chris Miller giving him an odd look. To Connor the DPD seems to have a lot of those these days, though the cause of it might be the fact he’s drenched from head to toe this time. Confused dark eyes look back at him from the safety of his desk and Connor give a smile he hopes comes around as polite.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t talking to you, I was-.” He goes to point where the detective is, but finds the man is gone. “I...was, there was...” Even when he blinks multiple times, the place continues to have one less detective than before.  
  
Connor activates his facial scanner to run a quick search. 

He’d not heard any fast footsteps coming from behind him, or detected any movement out of the ordinary, so the detective Reed hadn’t sprinted away from him. The man must be around here somewhere near, since the bathroom and specialized rooms are on the opposite side of this room.

_ >Scanning… _

He looks around the bullpen,

_ >Scanning….. . . _

his search comes back empty.

“Connor the fuck are you looking at?” Hank yells at him as he marches up to his desk. Connor feels how his LED turns red as he makes eye contact with him. Afraid Hank will vanish too if Connor looks away from him for more than a second. 

It makes no sense. 

The detective must be playing a prank on him, somehow, just like Chen is making fun of him. 

Hank glances at the LED warily and Connor quickly takes control to change it into the usual blue. 

_ >Initiate system analysis. _

“....nothing Lieutenant.”

"Uh-huh, also what the hell happened to you?" Hank asks, finally noticing the state of his clothes. The coffee has dried considerably by now, the sugar in it leaves the synthetic fibers of his hair sticking to one another in an uncomfortable manner. 

“Officer Chen--.” Hank brings a hand up to stop Connor before he can continue.

"No, no you know what? I don't want to know, just-just go and clean up before you mess up my desk." He says before signalling to the cleaning android to mop at the floor.

Connor gives a tense nod and walks to bathroom. His system overworking to find a flaw within his programs and, though his attention is primarily on the reports, he still hears how Officer Miller walks up to Hank once he thinks Connor is out of hearing-range and whispers into the lieutenant's ear.

“I think that android of yours is buggy, he started talking nonsense a bit earlier.”

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

\---- 

The detective must’ve done something to him. 

The glitch only seems to ever be present the moment Gavin is in his line of vision. In addition, the corruption only had only intensified during the moment the detective spoke. No other person in the precinct has cause the same reaction, he had checked by standing close and speaking with other officers.

It is possible that a virus managed to get past his firewalls, though his query remains the same: why Gavin specifically seems to be the trigger for it? The idea is no more than speculation at this point but, if this has just been all a ruse to poke some fun into the new machine then, Connor thinks is a about time to end it.

Maybe asking the man in question directly won’t get him any answers, considering the known hate for androids, but any attempts at trying to find and destroy the glitch has result in failure so far. Furthermore, he has made no progress so far into the current investigation, so reporting to Amanda now when he doesn’t have anything worth-while would be foolish of him.

  
  
The next time Hank leaves his desk, Connor puts his plan into motion.

It doesn’t take him long to find that the Detective is not on his assigned desk but rather sitting next to Officer Chen, in fact the positions resemble those he’d seen on the break room on his first day. Officer Chen, for once looks invested in her work, staring intensely at her terminal. One hand typing while the other plays with the mouse wheel idly. 

Gavin on the contrary, is watching him with cold eyes and a less than welcoming face.

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠

“Well look at that, Anderson’s plastic pet.” He says while tapping his fingers, glaring silently as Connor approaches. Chen pays no mind to the comment. Doesn't even turn to look at him, oddly enough. It makes Connor hopeful that, perhaps, this encounter will go smoother than previous ones.

Well, here goes nothing.

“Hello…” Despite his best efforts to come up as friendly, the officer jumps and flips some of the papers lying on the desktop the moment she hears him. She stares frustrated at the few that fall to the floor before setting that glare on Connor. His HUD reminds him the state of his relationship with Chen, as if it’s not obvious to him by now.

Connor gives an apologetic look her way, but closely keeps his eyes on Gavin.

“What the hell are you doing in here? Was I not clear enough for your super brain to comprehend I don’t want you near me?” She hisses as she goes to pick the reports up. Connor notices the change in her breathing pattern as she tries to compose herself. After letting out a two long sighs, she asks. “Does Hank needs something and sent your sorry ass?”

“No, there’s nothing I, or him, need from you at the moment however, I was hoping to be able to talk with detective Reed for a second.”

Officer Chen freezes, there’s no other word to describe it. Her fingers close around a folder tightly and her shoulders tense. When she looks at Connor, all minimal traces of calmness are gone from her face. 

“You were hoping to do…_ what? _” 

Connor frowns. 

“If I could talk with Detective Gavin Reed, to ask him some questions.” He motions vaguely to where Gavin is, this time making sure that the detective is still there, he is. A wicked grin meets Connor’s gaze and Connor doesn’t miss how passive he is being.

But Chen either chooses to ignore this or doesn’t see it as she stands up from her seat with clenched hands. She rounds the desk to be in front of Connor. The relationship status flashes on his HUD again as his scanner show the rise in her heartbeat, the sneer on her face and the way she growls out the next sentence.

“Say his name one more time plastic, one more…_ I dare you.” _

“Or how about you shut up your fucking mouth?” Gavin butts in, completely unhelpful to the situation and Connor gives him a disappointed look.

“Detective Ree--.” A fist slams right into the side of his face without warning. Connor’s head whips back, the force of the hit is strong enough to make him step backwards. His skin retreats as Tina’s knuckles make impact with his chassis and damage it, causing thirium to leak out and stain the inside of his mouth.

>_ Substance Found: thirium, Model RK800 #313-28-317-55. Release Date: #$5&/-1?/---. _

The rest of the information is lost in a corrupted mess of data. Something slams into his chest, making him lose balance. Connor's back hits hard against the tiled floor.

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠

He hears laughing as hands pull at the straps of his suit, separating him from the ground before thrusting him back on it again. 

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠

Something is yelled into his ear but he has no way of knowing what, his optical units are unable to see who’s attacking him. He can’t access the information. 

Why can’t he access it? 

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patched. _

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠

Gavin’s sarcastic laugh is ringing in his ears, loud so loud. He can’t hear anything other than that breathless, mocking laugh. It seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. 

The tiles crack as his fingers claw at them, then at the skin around his ears.   
  
  
There are hands around his neck--

_ software instability^ _

_ Instability> patch_ _ɹ̸̱̺̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠*. _

_ software instability^_

\--and they are squeezing and the laugh won’t stop, it won’t stop. He wants it to stop. Why won’t it stop? 

_ software instability^ _

_ software instability^ _

_ instability>patch_ _Ǝ̷̼̜̦͑̐ȩ̸̈̄̈́͋̾͝d̴̢̛̟͓̪͎̝͊̾͆̇͝ͅ.. _

_ >p̴͈̻̿̓̆̈̈́̈͝a̸̤͎͋̈́ť̷̨̞̖͚̿̓͊̀͐̒̚͝c̸̢̡̡̙͎̜̞͇̯̠̰̘̖͛̅̄͆͌́̏̑̐̆̔̐͌h̴̛̙̭̫̻̯̮͚̝̫̹̲͉̮͔̆́̂̽̈͊̐ ̶̧̢͙̜͈̭̎̆̉̽͑̔ ̸̧̧͓̥͉̱͔̙̘̫̰͕̉̐̍͗̚͜ȏ̴̳̩̼̘̼̦͎̬̞͋̌̃̓͠v̸̧̫͓͍̣̣͇̹̯͚̫̪̆̈́̔̍̄̔̀̉̇̃͝͠e̵̬̟͆̄̉̈̌̆̎̇̚̕̚r̸̹̥̖̝͕̠̞̫̼̃͋͋́̅͠r̶̡̧̛̼̜̱̘̍̒̈́̆́͗̔̐͌͘͝ḭ̷̧͓̞̭̼͎͈̙͆̅̈́͝͠d̷̢͕͇̎̌̐͋͋͝ę̸͕͕͈̪̇̃̋̅͝ͅ.̶̥͈́͂̈́̆͘ _

The hands leave him and another set replaces them. Bigger and warmer, they squeeze his shoulders, making Connor look into familiar blue eyes. He feels how his body is shaken back and forth. The sudden action makes the laugh lower its volume for a second, enough for him to hear more voices.

“Connor, Connor! Hey snap out of it.” Hank’s.

“I warned you, motherfucker!” Tina’s? Gavin’s?

“Tina! Please Calm down!” Chris’.

“Is this a just a fucking joke to you? Huh? Answer me you shit!” Tina’s.

“Tina please!” Chris’.

Too many voices at once. The auditory stimuli are too much, they are too much for him. He can’t take it, he needs for them to stop.

“Tina just shut up for a min--.”

Connor disconnects his receptors and Hank’s worried voice is cut off abruptly, along with the drilling laughter. 

And the sound of everyone else.

He grabs Hank’s arms and bumps his forehead approximately where he knows the man’s heart is. Connor takes slow, deep breaths as alarms start flaring on his HUD, telling him he’s close to overheating. The silicone-based skin tries to cover the exposed chassis as the systems kick-starts into fixing the thirium lost.

Even if Connor can’t hear it, he’s aware that all the commotion has made Captain Fowler exit his office room. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees everyone except for him turning to look at where the office is. He knows he should be facing his superior. He seeks the hand running through his back, instead. Until a strong pull moves Connor’s head to look up at Hank again. 

He focuses on the lieutenant’s lips as a key card is trusted in his hands._ ‘Go to the evidence room and bring me the Lenison’s evidence, got it? _’ That case is not the one they’re currently on. It doesn’t even have anything to do with deviants, he doesn’t understand.

_ software instability^ _

Hank shakes him again, while side-eyeing the Captain talking to officer Chen and Chris, and repeats _ ‘got it?’. _

Connor nods as he gasps for air, trying to get his core temperature back to optimal levels. Chris guides Tina out of the bullpen and to the front doors while Gavin stays. Hank gets up to talk to Fowler. Connor catches the words _ ‘Repaired my ass, that android is a fucking menace.’ _coming out of the Captain’s mouth as he leaves the scene.

_ software instability^ _

Gavin’s eyes follow him as he goes.

\----

Connor doesn’t turn his audio receptors back on until he’s almost on the evidence room. He puts a hand over his pump. The agitated beat has only now began to calm down. 

He takes 2.5 minutes to cool his internal fans, tries to forget everything but the mission Lieutenant Anderson has given him. Shaky fingers wrap around the handle as his wide eyed reflection stares back at him in the glass.

He goes to open the door to head downstairs. 

His arm doesn’t move.

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠

“Hey Asshole.” Gavin’s voice sound to his right but his eyes can’t give him a clear view, just a picture of a red LED and a terrified expression looking back at him. 

ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠ 

“I’m talking to you!” He can’t turn his head to look at the detective even though the order is sent. His muscles twitch in anticipation but they won’t obey him. “We don’t want plastic pricks around here or didn’t anybody tell you?”

He can’t move to tell Gavin to back off.

_ software instabil_ɹ̸̱̺̘̪̀͝Ö̶̥͍̋̈̂͠ͅɹ̶̿́̐͊̇̚ɹ̷̡̖̩̲̣̖͆̐̾͝Ǝ̴̻͂̍͘͠.

And the glitch just won’t go _ away _.

** _software instabî̸̼̣l̷̡̺̣̺̝͛̚̚͠i̵̮͂͌̿̏t̵͉͌̂͗́̚--._ **

“For fuck’s sake Connor, I didn’t go through one of Jeffrey’s tantrums just so you could stand there like a fucking idiot.” Hank’s voice feels like a prayer being answer even if he can’t look at him right now. 

He knows that Hank’s not all pleased with him at the moment but by the sound of his voice, he’s not entirely outraged with him either. There’s a chance that Hank might aid him.

“Hank, help.”

“Help you with--what, opening a door? Connor I swear to God--.”

“I can’t move.”

“You..huh?” The confusion is palpable, even from here.

“I’m experiencing a malfunction. I can’t seem to open the door or move to look at you, I’m stuck.” 

"Wait for real?" Connor gets that what he's saying might sound incredulous, but he could do without the disbelief right now.

  
His mouth tightens as he thinks about his next words. Connor’s not exactly sure if Gavin is still in here though, the fact that such vociferous individual like him hasn’t say a word leads him to believe he’s walked away. 

He decides in favor of letting Hank know of his suspicions, already prepared for a violent response.“ I think Gavin Reed is responsible for this.”

“Connor stop trying to bring him up, it’s not fucking funny.” 

“I’m not trying to be funny, I think Gavin has tampered with my systems.”

“Connor I’m telling you, shut it.” The lieutenant’s voice cracks on the last part, as if Hank’s barely holding back on shooting at him.

“I’m serious Hank, Gavin is--.” Hands grab him by his elbows and spin him around to finally face the other way. The unexpected movement seems to be enough to get rid of Connor’s temporary immobility. He feels how his body starts to listen to him again. But as he moves his head, he is suddenly looking directly into the eyes of a furious Hank. 

“ Gavin’s fucking dead okay?!” Hank screams in his face before inhaling harshly. “He’s dead, you hear me?” 

He blinks, not quite processing what he’s being told. Not quite knowing how to accept the words in the first place either.

“I...what?”

“Gavin’s been dead for over a month Connor,” Hank says and it surprise Connor how much pain he’s showing in each word. It almost feels real but Connor knows that’s just...not possible, he saw said dead man not two minutes ago.

“You asked me to let you into the evidence room and like a fucking idiot I let you. Gavin followed you and then...”Hank looks away from Connor as those words are spitted out. “You killed him. Like he was nothing more than a pesky fly, you killed him.” 

“No, no that’s not right--” Connor quickly refutes, eyes scanning to see if Gavin is anywhere nearby. Unfortunately, Hank is the only one standing in the small hallway with him though that doesn’t stop Connor. “He was in here Hank, he talked to me. I’ve seen Gavin walk around in--.”

“Connor just what the hell are you on about?”

“He was here with me until you showed up, he was. I can prove it.” Because Connor can connect to the security cameras in the precinct, he's not being fooled this time around. He hacks into the system and rewinds the footage looking for the past few days, starting with the one in which he came in here. He gets a clean image of the break room. Activates the screen on his palm to show Hank how--.

\--there’s no Gavin in there.

_ software instability^ _

Connor blinks dumbly at the image, switching to another angle to get a better view of the room, then another and another. Gavin doesn’t show on any single angle the camera has to offer.

“No, that’s not--wait a minute.” Connor says hurriedly at Hank and switches to the next date he knows he saw Gavin. Nothing.

_ software instability^ _

The next date.

Nothing.

He tries with multiple cameras at once_. _

_ software instability^ _

Gavin just isn’t there.

_ software instability^ _

_ software instability^ _

But Connor knows he was.

_ software instability^ _

_ software instability^ _

** _software instability^^_ **

He has recollection of the event he was--.

He--.

** _software instability^^_ **

** _software instability^^_ **

** _software instabî̸̼̣l̷̡̺̣̺̝͛̚̚͠i̵̮͂͌̿̏t̵͉͌̂͗́̚y̵̡͚̥͑̈́͑̾͠ͅͅ_ **

** _*̴̥̖͖̲͈͎̰͆̏̊̄̍s̷̱̔̍͋͆̃͋̉͗̐̈́̄̾͗̕o̴̧̭͓̘̫̜͖͙͙͕͕̟̟͌́̈́̃̏̈̈́̕f̵̤͖͘t̷̘̙̩̾̇͜w̸̧̞͎̰̬̞̝̞̌̈͌͋̈̀̌̐a̸̲̘̣̪͔̓͜͜͜r̸̜͙͍̰̫̼͈̱̤͕̫̯͂̀͑̚͜ͅë̴̡̡͇̫͖̤̫̯̎ͅ ̵̛̩̖͔̘͈͚̝͛̌͛͐͗ǐ̴̡̡̦̠͎̩͔͔̩͎͙̺̯̲̈̒̓͑͌͊̕͝n̴͈̬͕̜̺̯̎̒̄̾̌̿̆͝s̸̢̧̼̥͈̼̱̅͐̐̓̆̀̋̈́͋͌͗͒͘͜͝͠t̷͈͇͍̜̺̥͔̟̖̯̃̓͗͒͑̅͒̍͘͝ą̷̞̲̹͔̔̈́̑͛͌̈̊̍̀̚͘͠b̴̛̠͓̰͔̰̔̃͆͆i̵̧̢̡̪̳̫̣̰͈̘̰̦͍͊̓͗͝ͅļ̴̡̹͇͔̯̙̻̯̲͔̥̺͎͖̅̍̂i̴̛͇̘͎͉̲͚̫̱̓͗̂͑̊͗̋̿̚͝ṱ̶̡̢̡̡̡̛̫̗̳̣̝͕̓̍͑̔̍͊͊̓̈͂͝͠y̸͍͐̌̐͑̾̌͂̂̆͆͂^̵̖̗̳̺͘ _ **

**_s̷̱̔̍͋͆̃͋̉͗̐̈́̄̾͗̕o̴̧̭͓̘̫̜͖͙͙͕͕̟̟͌́̈́̃̏̈̈́̕f̵̤͖͘t̷̘̙̩̾̇͜w̸̧̞͎̰̬̞̝̞̌̈͌͋̈̀̌̐a̸̲̘̣̪͔̓͜͜͜r̸̜͙͍̰̫̼͈̱̤͕̫̯͂̀͑̚͜ͅë̴̡̡͇̫͖̤̫̯̎ͅ ̵̛̩̖͔̘͈͚̝͛̌͛͐͗ǐ̴̡̡̦̠͎̩͔͔̩͎͙̺̯̲̈̒̓͑͌͊̕͝n̴͈̬͕̜̺̯̎̒̄̾̌̿̆͝s̸̢̧̼̥͈̼̱̅͐̐̓̆̀̋̈́͋͌͗͒͘͜͝͠t̷͈͇͍̜̺̥͔̟̖̯̃̓͗͒͑̅͒̍͘͝ą̷̞̲̹͔̔̈́̑͛͌̈̊̍̀̚͘͠b̴̛̠͓̰͔̰̔̃͆͆i̵̧̢̡̪̳̫̣̰͈̘̰̦͍͊̓͗͝ͅļ̴̡̹͇͔̯̙̻̯̲͔̥̺͎͖̅̍̂i̴̛͇̘͎͉̲͚̫̱̓͗̂͑̊͗̋̿̚͝ṱ̶̡̢̡̡̡̛̫̗̳̣̝͕̓̍͑̔̍͊͊̓̈͂͝͠y̸͍͐̌̐͑̾̌͂̂̆͆͂^̵̖̗̳̺͘ _ **

“Hank I, I don’t understand. He was in here I heard his voice. I saw him but the cameras don’t show him and I...”

“Connor…” Hank sounds so disappointed, so done with whatever excuses he thinks Connor is trying to pull on him. Hank takes a step to leave him and Connor feels something shattering within him. He clings to the man for dear life when Hank tries to move away. The lieutenant struggles against his hold but Connor doesn’t let him go.

“Wait...please.” Connor buries his head into the crook of Hank's shoulder and closes his eyes, stupidly hoping that can stop all the errors from showing up. 

When hands come up to wrap around him in a hug instead of pushing him away, Connor chokes on a breath he doesn’t really need and feels liquid trailing down his eyes. Androids are not supposed to cry--.

“I’m here. I’m here...son.” He hears Hank say, the sentence sounding foreign coming from him. Rehearsed.

Connor’s hug tightens as the last piece of that something, a red wall, crumbles down and a rush of memories overfill him.

\-- _ going down to the evidence room to locate Jericho. Finding Gavin pointing a gun at him in there. Fighting the detective and pushing him against the access table. The sound of a neck snapping under his fingers as he twists-- _A glitching image of Gavin stands behind the shattered wall, glaring at him through the fog relating events of his death. 

He sneers down at Connor and points a finger at him.

“You won’t get away with it this time”. His distorted voice hisses at him as those memories keep repeating in front of him. Connor can’t bring himself to look away, but all the same wishing for them to stop.

“Hank I...” He chokes out miserably as Gavin’s body disappears, along with those memories, and is replaced with something else. 

Something far worse.

“It’s….it’s okay Connor.” Hank hesitantly whispers into his ear. “You’re going to be okay.”

He won’t be, Hank knows he won’t. He needs to report back to Amanda soon...

The flashing _ [I am deviant] _ on his HUD is kind enough to remind him.

Nothing will be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Revenant: one that returns after death or a long absence.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this, thank you so much for reading it ^^.
> 
> Come look around the [New ERA Discord](https://discord.gg/GqvNzUm) where this prompt started if you want to see more dbh content or just lurk around.  



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